Women's Basketball | January 20

DeKALB, Ill. – The Northern Illinois University women's basketball team is back in action at the NIU Convocation Center Wednesday night (Jan. 21) against the Western Michigan Broncos for Mental Health Awareness Night. Tip-off is at 6 p.m.
 
Tickets are on sale at NIUHuskies.com/tickets and through the NIU Athletics Ticket Office at 815-753-PACK (7225). The game will be broadcast on ESPN+ and locally on 94-9 WDKB.
 
NIU (3-14, 1-5 MAC) had a season-high four players score in double figures on Saturday in a 66-62 loss at Ohio. The Huskies erased a 10-point Bobcat lead in the third quarter to take a 39-38 lead.  NIU is the fourth team this season to hold Ohio under 70 points.
 
Sa'Mahn Johnson (Columbus, Ohio/Reynoldsburg) led all scorers Saturday with 16 points. She was 6-for-11 from the field and made a career-high three three-pointers. Nadechka Laccen (San Juan, Puerto Rico/St. Bonaventure) had 15 points and tied her career-high with seven assists. She scored seven points in a 10-0 NIU run in the third quarter that put the Huskies in front. Laccen is averaging 10.6 points per game in Mid-American Conference play.
 
Emilie Sorensen (Waukee, Iowa/Waukee) made four three-pointers on Saturday on her way to 14 points. It was the freshman's third game this season with at least four triples, as well as her fifth double-figure scoring game. Nevaeh Wingate (Liverpool, N.Y./St. John's) scored in double figures for the seventh consecutive game with 10 points, adding six rebounds and three steals. Over her last five games Wingate is averaging 13.4 points, 6.0 rebounds and 3.2 steals per game.
 
Western Michigan (5-11, 2-4 MAC) comes to DeKalb on a three-game losing streak. The Broncos lost to first-place Ball State 78-57 on Saturday. Kailey Starks led the Broncos with 19 points. De'Ahna Richardson added 13 points and a team-high six rebounds. Starks leads Western Michigan in scoring at 12.0 points per game. Senior guard Alli Carlson is third in the league in assist/turnover ratio at 1.61 and fifth with 4.9 assists per game.
 
NIU and Western Michigan split its two games last season with the road team winning each game. The last time a home team won a game in the series was on Feb. 19, 2022 when the Huskies defeated the Broncos 73-55 in DeKalb. Western Michigan leads the all-time series 44-32 with NIU holding a 19-17 edge at the Convocation Center.
 
The Huskies head to Eastern Michigan on Saturday, Jan. 24 to take on the Eagles. Tip-off is at 12 p.m. CT.
 
--NIU--